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Deleted member 10829
Guest
Original is always good! Coming together nicely. The speedo and tach look just like the gauges I had in my first sled at age 14, a 1974 TX 250.
One Man's Trash
- Thread starter skiroule
- Start date
skiroule
Well-known member
Yeah, it's my impression that in the early 70's, one company was producing the same gauges for a lot of different manufacturers with the only difference being the sled brand logo on the bottom of the gauge.
Wood-grain, definitely early 70's.
skiroule
Well-known member
Thanks Mezz - Some of my vintage cohorts have recommended that it be a dedicated show sled, maybe not even fire it up. Think I’d much rather roll on the power on a smooth trail.
Yeah Gary, the woodgrain just screams 70’s – looks kinda cheesy now but it was everywhere back then. Maybe someday we’ll say the same thing about carbon fiber graphics.
Yeah Gary, the woodgrain just screams 70’s – looks kinda cheesy now but it was everywhere back then. Maybe someday we’ll say the same thing about carbon fiber graphics.
skiroule
Well-known member
As they say, the sled is “on its feet”. Actually, I’m probably the only one that says that. Skis are mounted and steering hooked up. Have a line on ski shocks but waiting for the Christmas bonus before that purchase is made. Hope it shows up.
Checked out the connected lights and electric start. So far, everything works but the test battery will need replacement.
Carbs are close, have them jetted pretty rich right now so some adjustment may be required. Throttle linkage is ready to go but ordered another choke cable setup that I think will work better than the first setup I ordered. This sled isn’t designed for choke cables so it’s a little tricky to come up with a logical routing. Once that’s sorted out, I’ll be running out of excuses to not fire it up.
Checked out the connected lights and electric start. So far, everything works but the test battery will need replacement.
Carbs are close, have them jetted pretty rich right now so some adjustment may be required. Throttle linkage is ready to go but ordered another choke cable setup that I think will work better than the first setup I ordered. This sled isn’t designed for choke cables so it’s a little tricky to come up with a logical routing. Once that’s sorted out, I’ll be running out of excuses to not fire it up.
Wow! Starts on the first pull. You must be one of those "Hirth Whisperers".
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Deleted member 10829
Guest
Sounds great Kelly! Those handlebars remind me of my buddies Rupp bars when we were kids. Love the hand grips too.
skiroule
Well-known member
Well Gary, we both know the magic of PowerDirector video editing. But seriously, I'm really impressed with how well this motor fires up. I'm sure that the switch to Mikuni VM carbs is a big factor.
Mark, I have to admit, this thing is loud! Sound reduction wasn't really a feature of the Donaldson "mufflers" and yeah, the rake of these handlebars is just plain cool. They are a key part of the look of this sled.
skiroule
Well-known member
Brake Assembly – Not a very big deal in the grand scheme of things but it’s worth mentioning because it was a reminder that a little luck sometimes goes a long way on these projects.
Most likely, the 72 Chaparral mechanical brake design was unique to the brand (or a limited group of manufacturers), which doesn’t really help matters when it comes to a rebuild. When completely installed, this mechanical braking system consists of over 35 parts, many of which are design specific. If any of these parts are lost, damaged, or worn out, a time-consuming hunt will be on for replacements, assuming some can even be found.
In my case, this is where the luck comes in. For reasons I can’t recall, I had no less than three mostly complete, spare 72 brake systems squirreled away. These were pretty rusty and beat up but I was able to build a fully functional system using a combination of original sled parts and parts from two of the three spares.
Only a couple of hours of work left “under the hood”. Then it will be time to re-tool and begin hood assembly.
Most likely, the 72 Chaparral mechanical brake design was unique to the brand (or a limited group of manufacturers), which doesn’t really help matters when it comes to a rebuild. When completely installed, this mechanical braking system consists of over 35 parts, many of which are design specific. If any of these parts are lost, damaged, or worn out, a time-consuming hunt will be on for replacements, assuming some can even be found.
In my case, this is where the luck comes in. For reasons I can’t recall, I had no less than three mostly complete, spare 72 brake systems squirreled away. These were pretty rusty and beat up but I was able to build a fully functional system using a combination of original sled parts and parts from two of the three spares.
Only a couple of hours of work left “under the hood”. Then it will be time to re-tool and begin hood assembly.
WorkHardPlayHrd
Active member
It's a good thing my 12 year old isn't in your garage. Shiny and in pieces!!! He would be unable to keep his hands off of it.
skiroule
Well-known member
Your 12 year old and I have a lot in common.
skiroule
Well-known member
K&N’s showed up today so everything is complete except for the seat. Always impressed with the K&N website. It provides about 15 specification details on each filter so you know exactly what you are getting and the fit is perfect.
Going to attempt to fabricate the seat from scratch – that should be interesting. Beer foam I understand, seat foam - not so much. Going to try to roughly duplicate the dimensions but not create an exact replica.
Going to attempt to fabricate the seat from scratch – that should be interesting. Beer foam I understand, seat foam - not so much. Going to try to roughly duplicate the dimensions but not create an exact replica.
skiroule
Well-known member
Thanks swampy2! Fired it up yesterday just to confirm that the first firing wasn’t a fluke. Adjusted the idle screws so it idles at a sweet sounding 1400 RPMs. Will leave it at that for now. Hoping that the next time it runs it will be on the snow.
My dad got by with a sofa cushion on his 67 Skee-Horse, so I guess I could leave my seat design in its current form – seems pretty functional.
My dad got by with a sofa cushion on his 67 Skee-Horse, so I guess I could leave my seat design in its current form – seems pretty functional.